# First ladies and gentlemen of Costa Rica

First Lady or First Gentleman of Costa Rica (Spanish: Primera dama o Primer caballero de Costa Rica) is the title of the wife or husband of the president of Costa Rica. Traditionally, the president's wife was colloquially known as la presidenta ("the president", with a feminine -a ending). The current term was first used under Federico Alberto Tinoco Granados.

## Operations

The Office of First Lady of First Gentleman is allocated no official funding from the government budget of Costa Rica. Instead, the office and officeholder relies on private donations to cover the expenses. These funds support the first lady's causes and foundations, which traditionally focus on cultural, environmental, and social issues. The office of Leila Rodríguez Stahl, the first lady 2002 to 2006, had a staff of approximately 60 at its largest. However, many of those staffers worked pro bono or were employed temporarily from other government offices.

## First ladies and gentlemen of Costa Rica (1847–present)

| First Lady or Gentleman | Lifespan | President | Years in position | Notes |
| Pacífica Fernández Oreamuno | 1828–1885 | José María Castro Madriz | 1847–1849 | José María Castro Madriz was the first President of Costa Rica, making Pacífica Fernández the inaugural First Lady. |
| Felipa Montes de Oca Gamero | 1814–1882 | Miguel Mora Porras | 1849 | |
| Inés Aguilar Cueto | 1830–1895 | Juan Rafael Mora Porras | 1849–1859 | |
| Sofía Matilde Joy Redman | 1823–1908 | José María Montealegre Fernández | 1859–1863 | Born in the United Kingdom |
| Esmeralda Oreamuno Gutiérrez | 1834–1873 | Jesús Jiménez Zamora | 1863 –1866 | |
| Pacífica Fernández Oreamuno | 1828–1885 | José María Castro Madriz | 1866–1868 | |
| Esmeralda Oreamuno Gutiérrez | 1834–1873 | Jesús Jiménez Zamora | 1868–1870 | |
| Gerónima Montealegre Fernández | 1823–1892 | Bruno Carranza Ramírez | 1870 | |
| Emilia Solórzano Alfaro | 1835–1882 | Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez | 1870–1876 | |
| Isaura Carazo Peralta | 1838–1905 | Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz | 1876 | |
| Guadalupe Gutiérrez García | 1828–1886 | Vicente Herrera Zeledón | 1876–1877 | |
| Emilia Solórzano Alfaro | 1835–1914 | Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez | 1877–1882 | |
| Angélica Guardia Solórzano | 1858–1938 | Saturnino Lizano Gutiérrez | 1882 | |
| Cristina Guardia Gutiérrez | 1842–1907 | Próspero Fernández Oreamuno | 1882–1885 | |
| Pacífica Fernández Guardia | 1864–1919 | Bernardo Soto Alfaro | 1885–1890 | |
| Luisa Alvarado Carrillo | 1853–1943 | José Rodríguez Zeledón | 1890–1894 | |
| Manuela Rodríguez Alvarado | 1872–1953 | Rafael Yglesias Castro | 1894–1902 | |
| Adela Salazar Guardia | 1869–1907 | Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra | 1902–1906 | |
| Adela Herrán Bonilla | 1861–1932 | Cleto González Víquez | 1906–1910 | |
| Vacant since President Oreamuno was unmarried | | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1910–1914 | |
| Vacant since President González was unmarried | | Alfredo González Flores | 1914–1917 | |
| María Fernández Le Cappellain | 1877–1961 | Federico Tinoco Granados | 1917–1919 | |
| Clementina Quirós Quirós | 1875–1965 | Juan Bautista Quirós Segura | 1919 | |
| Natalia Morúa Ortíz | | Francisco Aguilar Barquero | 1919–1920 | |
| Elena Gallegos Rosales | 1882–1954 | Julio Acosta García | 1920–1924 | Born in El Salvador |
| Vacant since President Oreamuno was unmarried | | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1924–1928 | |
| Adela Herrán Bonilla | 1861–1932 | Cleto González Víquez | 1928–1932 | Died in 1932 while President González was still in office |
| Beatriz Zamora López | 1871–1933 | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1932–1933 | Beatriz Zamora López died in office in 1933. There was no First Lady until 1936 |
| María Eugenia Calvo Badia | 1914–1983 | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1936 | Second wife of President Oreamuno |
| Julia Fernández Rodríguez | 1882–1957 | León Cortés Castro | 1936–1940 | |
| Yvonne Clays Spoelders | 1906–1994 | Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia | 1940–1944 | Born in Belgium. First woman to serve as a Costa Rican diplomat. |
| Etelvina Ramírez Montiel | 1901–1976 | Teodoro Picado Michalski | 1944–1948 | |
| Henrietta Boggs | 1918–2020 | José Figueres Ferrer | 1948–1949 | Born in the United States. Boggs and Figueres divorced on January 1, 1954 |
| Vacant since President Ulate was unmarried | | Otilio Ulate Blanco | 1949–1953 | President Ulate never married, though he was in a long-term relationship with Haydée Rojas Smith for many years. |
| Karen Olsen Beck | 1933– | José Figueres Ferrer | 1954–1958 | Born in Denmark. Olsen married President Figueres in office on February 7, 1954, becoming First Lady. |
| Olga De Benedictis Antonelli | 1916–2001 | Mario Echandi Jiménez | 1958–1962 | Daughter of Italian parents |
| Marita Camacho Quirós | 1911– | Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich | 1962–1966 | Became a supercentenarian in 2021. |
| Clara Fonseca Guardia | 1916–2002 | José Joaquín Trejos Fernández | 1966–1970 | |
| Karen Olsen Beck | 1933– | José Figueres Ferrer | 1970–1974 | Born in Denmark |
| Marjorie Elliott Sypher | 1925 –2015 | Daniel Oduber Quirós | 1974–1978 | Born in Canada |
| Estrella Zeledón Lizano | 1929–2019 | Rodrigo Carazo Odio | 1978–1982 | |
| Doris Yankelewitz Berger | 1934–2016 | Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez | 1982–1986 | Costa Rica's first Jewish First Lady |
| Margarita Penón Góngora | 1948– | Óscar Arias Sánchez | 1986–1990 | |
| Gloria Bejarano Almada | 1952– | Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier | 1990–1994 | Born in Mexico |
| Josette Altmann Borbón | 1958– | José María Figueres Olsen | 1994–1998 | |
| Lorena Clare Facio | 1943– | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría | 1998–2002 | |
| Leila Rodríguez Stahl | 1942– | Abel Pacheco de la Espriella | 2002–2006 | Rodriguez won the Miss Costa Rica pageant in 1960 |
| Vacant since President Arias was divorced at the time | | Óscar Arias | 2006–2010 | |
| José María Rico | 1934–2019 | Laura Chinchilla Miranda | 2010–2014 | Born in Spain. 1st First Gentleman of Costa Rica |
| Mercedes Peñas Domingo | 1968– | Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera | 2014–2018 | Born in Spain. |
| Claudia Dobles Camargo | 1980– | Carlos Alvarado Quesada | 2018–2022 | |
| Signe Zeicate | 1972– | Rodrigo Chaves Robles | 2022–2026 | Born in Latvia |